People Moves: Mississippi Insurance Lawyer Nominated to Federal Appeals Court

President Donald Trump has nominated a longtime municipal insurance lawyer to serve as a judge on the U.S. 5^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

G. Todd Butler, managing partner at the Jackson office of the Phelps Dunbar law firm, has represented Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance in appeals and has been general counsel for the Mississippi Municipal Workers’ Compensation Group and for the Mississippi Municipal Liability Plan, according to Phelps Dunbar.

He also has extensive experience in labor and employment law, and he serves as an adjunct professor at the Mississippi College School of Law.

If ratified by the U.S. Senate, Butler would replace Judge Leslie Southwick, who plans to take senior status, a sort of semi-retirement. Butler once clerked for Southwick before moving into law practice.

Butler graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and earned his law degree from Mississippi College.

The 5^th Circuit hears appeals from Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas federal courts. It is one of 10 regional appeals courts that are one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

Topics Mississippi